Scottish Executive

Animal Welfare

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the present regulation of horseshoeing in the Highlands, the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland is adequate and, if not, what action it intends to take to address this matter.

Ross Finnie: We have no reason to believe that the derogation from the Farriers (Registration) Act 1975 for the Highlands and Islands Enterprise Area is having any adverse affect on the welfare of horses.

Asthma

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to require GPs to provide practice nurses with additional training in asthma.

Malcolm Chisholm: The GP Statement of Fees and Allowances for providing Chronic Disease Management for asthma patients requires that "any health professional involved in the care of patients in the programme should be appropriately trained in the management of asthma". Ninety-five point eight per cent of GP principals qualify for chronic disease management payments for asthma. GP terms of service require that they ensure that any other health professional to whom they refer or delegate the care of a patient is appropriately trained to provide the treatment.

  There are no plans to require GPs to provide practice nurses with additional asthma training.

Common Agricultural Policy

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcome was of the review of the Common Agricultural Policy Scheme Administration.

Ross Finnie: The review has now been completed and copies of the final report are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre. The report is also available on the Scottish Executive website.

  The remit for the work was to review the management and administration in Scotland of payments made under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), consider options for change and improvement in processes and structures within the EU regimes, and to make recommendations.

  The key drivers were improved customer care, responding to rapidly changing developments in electronic systems, improved accountability including, as appropriate, organisational change, improved management accountability, better measurement and control of costs, and better audit and financial control.

  The final report includes a section on stakeholder analysis and specifies an overall vision for the work as follows:

  "To implement the CAP subsidy schemes in Scotland economically, efficiently and effectively, in line with EU requirements and providing a fair and first class service to farmer customers, ensuring that the public funds disbursed are subject to proper financial control."

  The report includes 37 recommendations covering communications (internal and external), the role of information and communications technology in service delivery, organisation and accountability and management information.

Compulsory Purchase Orders

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many compulsory purchase orders were instigated and successfully completed by each local authority in each of the last five years, broken down by categories where appropriate.

Hugh Henry: The information held by the Executive is to be found in the table.

  The Executive holds information only on those compulsory purchase orders submitted to the Scottish ministers as confirming authority. We do not hold information on those orders instigated by a local authority but not submitted for confirmation or on the outcome of the order following confirmation by ministers.

  The table shows compulsory purchase orders submitted by local authorities to the Scottish ministers (or prior to July 1999 the Secretary of State for Scotland) and those confirmed by them. The table also shows the purposes for which the orders were made.

  Number of Local Authority Compulsory Purchase Orders Received and Confirmed in the Last Five Years

  


Council 
  

Purpose 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  



Rec'd 
  

Conf'd 
  

Rec'd 
  

Conf'd 
  

Rec'd 
  

Conf'd 
  

Rec'd 
  

Conf'd 
  

Rec'd 
  

Conf'd 
  



Aberdeen 
  

Roads 
  

0 
  

0 
  

2 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Planning 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  



Angus 
  

Roads 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Planning 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  



Clackmannan-shire 
  

Housing 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Dundee 
  

Roads 
  

1 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Housing 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Planning 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

2 
  

0 
  

0 
  

2 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Listed Buildings 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

Planning 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Listed Buildings 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

Roads 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Planning 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

Roads 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Edinburgh



Roads 
  

2 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Housing 
  

1 
  

0 
  

2 
  

2 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Planning 
  

0 
  

1 
  

2 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

2 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Falkirk 
  

Planning 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  



Fife



Roads 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Housing 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  



Planning 
  

0 
  

0 
  

3 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Glasgow 
  

Roads 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  



Housing 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

1 
  

3 
  

0 
  

1 
  

2 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Listed Buildings 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Highland



Roads 
  

1 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Housing 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Planning 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

2 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Inverclyde 
  

Planning 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

0 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

Housing 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Planning 
  

0 
  

0 
  

2 
  

2 
  

1 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

Roads 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Housing 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Planning 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Perth 
and Kinross 
  

Roads 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Planning 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

Roads 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Planning 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

2 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  


 

Listed Buildings 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Shetland 
  

Roads 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

Roads 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

2 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

Roads 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

1 
  



Housing 
  

1 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Planning 
  

4 
  

2 
  

3 
  

3 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Listed Buildings 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Stirling 
  

Roads 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  



Housing 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Planning 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

Roads 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Planning 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar 
  

Roads 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

0 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  



Totals 
  
 

11 
  

16 
  

20 
  

11 
  

16 
  

12 
  

15 
  

12 
  

15 
  

20

Crofting

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to publish its plan for reform of crofting legislation.

Ross Finnie: I shall be publishing a white paper setting out our proposals for reform of crofting legislation on 4 July. Copies of the white paper will be made available in the Parliament's Information Centre, (Bib. number 22193) and published on the Scottish Executive website on the morning of 4 July. Copies of the white paper will be issued for consultation on that day to a range of interested parties and will be available on demand thereafter to anyone who wishes to see the proposals and respond to the consultation.

Employment

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any pilot employment schemes trialled under the New Deal will be extended to West Dunbartonshire to tackle employment levels in the area.

Iain Gray: Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing organisations.

  A number of changes are being piloted under the New Deal Next Phase. No decisions have been taken about extending these but experience gained will inform any future development of New Deal.

  Progress2work is part of the New Deal Next Phase development and is already operating in West Dunbartonshire.

Enterprise

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money has been invested in the bioAdventures biotechnology business incubator at Clydebank and how many new local jobs have been created to date as a result.

Iain Gray: The total spend on the bioAdventures business incubator in Clydebank from April 1997 to June 2002 by Scottish Enterprise has been £1,631,884, with an additional £218,851 from the European Regional Development Fund. The number of jobs created currently stands at 38 and is expected to rise to 106 over the next two years.

European Funding

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what requests it has made for European funding relating to the creation of a global container port and what European money may be available for such a port.

Lewis Macdonald: There are currently no applications for funding from European funds for a global container port in Scotland. Any application for such a project would receive due consideration, in line with any other application, to assess compatibility with the relevant programme criteria and taking into account the availability of funds. An application would also have to be submitted within the lifetime of the current programmes which are due to end in 2006. Financial assistance more generally would depend on the circumstances involved, though the policy set out in Modern Ports: A UK Policy is that port developments and port operations should not in general need public subsidy.

Ferry Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any study has been undertaken into ferry links between Ardrossan and Tarbert and, if not, what action it plans to take on this matter.

Lewis Macdonald: I understand that a study to investigate the potential to introduce new fast ferry services from Ardrossan was commissioned by Clydeport plc and North Ayrshire Council, and that a ferry link between Ardrossan and Tarbert was an option explored by the researchers.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Rural Development last met the Scottish Fish Merchants EAssociation and when the next scheduled meeting will be.

Ross Finnie: I last met the Chief Executive of the Scottish Fish Merchants EFederation on 18 April 2002. The Chief Executive wrote to me on 5 June 2002 requesting a further meeting and my office is in the process of setting this up.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact of the current powers of customs officers in respect of inspection of meat consignments and the resources allocated to such inspections on the prevention or control of any future outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

Ross Finnie: All meat consignments imported into Scotland from non European Union countries must enter the country through Border Inspection Posts and must be accompanied by a general or specific licence. All consignments are inspected by a Local Veterinary Inspector on behalf of the local authority who are the enforcing authority. All documentation is checked and a percentage of each consignment is examined. There are very few meat consignments imported into Scotland and recent talks with local authorities confirmed that they have no difficulties meeting these inspection obligations.

  Customs officers are not involved in the inspection of meat consignments.

Health

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the arrangements for chronic disease management payments to GPs are working successfully.

Malcolm Chisholm: GPs receive payments for chronic disease management of asthma and diabetes. A very high percentage of GPs provide Chronic Disease Management (CDM) programmes for patients suffering from these conditions. The latest figures available show a high success rate of 95.3% of GPs in Scotland providing both CDM programmes.

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which diseases require to be registered on the disease register.

Malcolm Chisholm: There are no disease registers in Scotland, described as such. NHSScotland and the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health maintain a number of databases which record the incidence and prevalence of a range of diseases and other conditions.

  This surveillance information can be vital for maintaining and improving safety of patient care as well as allowing rapid investigation of outbreaks of serious infection or clusters of unusual illness. Surveillance information also underpins research, policy development, and service planning. As such, it is an important element of the Scottish Executive's plans to continue to improve treatment and care in Scotland.

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether regional disease registers are anonymised.

Malcolm Chisholm: There are no regional disease registers in Scotland, described as such. NHSScotland and the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health maintain a number of databases which record the incidence and prevalence of a range of diseases and other conditions.

  This surveillance information can be vital for maintaining and improving safety of patient care as well as allowing rapid investigation of outbreaks of serious infection or clusters of unusual illness. Complete anonymisation of these datasets could therefore compromise safety. Surveillance information also underpins research, policy development, and service planning. As such, it is an important element of the Scottish Executive's plans to continue to improve treatment and care in Scotland.

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether local health care co-ordinators should have a direct role in commissioning hospital services.

Malcolm Chisholm: No, if this means creating unnecessary bureaucracy for Local Health Care Co-operatives to hold funds for commissioning secondary care. Local primary care teams already have a leading role in driving forward the development of care and the redesign of services around the needs of patients. In order to support and empower primary care teams to lead change across the local health system it is important that consideration is given to the future role of Local Health Care Co-operatives. It is for this reason that a major part of the review of The strategic development of management and decision-making in NHSScotland  will focus on the developing role of Local Health Care Co-operatives in the planning and delivery of patient care.

Housing

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much expenditure has been invested in new or refurbished homes in Clydebank by Scottish Homes and Communities Scotland since 1999.

Ms Margaret Curran: The information requested is set out in the table:

  

 

CS Grant
(£ million) 
  

Private Finance
(£ million) 
  

Total
(£ million) 
  



Actual Expenditure 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2002 
  

14.617 
  

6.260 
  

20.877 
  



Planned Expenditure 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 
  

4.488 
  

1.920 
  

6.408 
  



Total 
  

19.105 
  

8.180 
  

27.285

NHS Waiting Times

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26204 by Malcolm Chisholm on 5 June 2002, when representatives of the National Waiting Times Unit will meet senior management of NHS boards and trusts in (a) Forth Valley and (b) Fife.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Director of the National Waiting Times Unit met with senior management of NHS Forth Valley and NHS Fife on 1 May 2002 and 9 May 2002 respectively.

NHS Waiting Times

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) target and (b) actual median current waiting times are for an opthamological examination by a consultant opthamologist in each NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The median waiting times for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant in ophthalmology, following referral by a General Medical Practitioner, by NHS board of residence, in the year ended 31 December 2001, is given in the following table.

  The target waiting time for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant, following referral by a General Medical Practitioner or General Dental Practitioner, is nine weeks.

  NHSScotland: Median Waiting Times for a First Out-patient Appointment with a Consultant in Ophthalmology, Following Referral by a General Medical Practitioner, by NHS Board of Residence. Year Ending 31 December 2001P.

  


NHS Board 
  

Median WaitP




Argyll and Clyde 
  

 55 days 
  



Ayrshire and Arran 
  

 58 days 
  



Borders 
  

 45 days 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

 71 days 
  



Fife 
  

 67 days 
  



Forth Valley 
  

 62 days 
  



Grampian 
  

 89 days 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

 102 days 
  



Highland 
  

 77 days 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

 87 days 
  



Lothian 
  

 47 days 
  



Orkney 
  

 86 days 
  



Shetland 
  

 22 days 
  



Tayside 
  

 39 days 
  



Western Isles 
  

 95 days 
  



Scotland 
  

 66 days 
  



  Source: ISD Scotland, SMR00.

  PProvisional.

National Lottery Funding

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what lottery funding was received by (a) Glasgow City, (b) Renfrewshire, (c) North Lanarkshire, (d) South Lanarkshire, (e) South Ayrshire, (f) Dundee City, (g) East Dunbartonshire and (h) West Dunbartonshire councils in each of the last three years.

Dr Elaine Murray: The following table provides the detail requested for complete years 1999, 2000 and 2001 and to date for 2002:

  

 

1999 (£) 
  

2000 (£) 
  

2001 (£) 
  

2002 (£) 
  



Glasgow City 
  

19,399,236 
  

17,194,480 
  

17,840,244 
  

19,785,798 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

4,500,779 
  

909,280 
  

1,210,302 
  

630,575 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

4,614,528 
  

2,589,247 
  

2,448,522 
  

1,665,383 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

5,928,908 
  

2,303,383 
  

1,893,071 
  

576,041 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

1,192,659 
  

1,409,531 
  

976,007 
  

187,290 
  



Dundee City 
  

1,866,273 
  

1,837,720 
  

6,033,514 
  

1,643,568 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

1,053,565 
  

916,671 
  

1,438,012 
  

171,118 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

1,115,963 
  

750,811 
  

1,522,760 
  

1,073,549 
  



  The above information has been collated from data received from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Information on lottery awards may be obtained directly from the department's website at:

  www.culture.org.uk.

Planning

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether environmental statements could be improved through a requirement that the statement reflects the broad social impact of development proposals and the cumulative impact of the proposals rather than solely environmental and other aspects.

Hugh Henry: It would not be appropriate to require developers to address all material considerations in environmental statements.

  The minimum information requirements of environmental statements, are specified in regulations. The regulations also specify a wider range of information that must be included in environmental statements where reasonable in the circumstances of the case. This includes information on the proposal’s cumulative effects and its effects on the population insofar as these are related to the environment. The regulations represent precisely the requirements of the European Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment.

  It is for the planning authority to ensure that all other material considerations, including social impact where appropriate, are taken into consideration along with the environmental statement in determining the application. Planning authorities have general powers to require applicants to submit further information which the authority requires to determine a planning application.

Planning

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made with the consultation on the review of strategic planning and when it expects to release its response to the consultation.

Ms Margaret Curran: We have given very careful consideration to the responses to the consultation paper on the Review of Strategic Planning and we will be publishing our conclusions and the next steps tomorrow. Our conclusions on the main proposals are:

  that a national planning framework (referred to in the consultation paper as a national overview document) will be prepared;

  that the requirement for blanket two-tier development plans be removed;

  that strategic development plans be prepared by joint committees for the four largest cities (i.e. Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee) and their hinterlands, and

  that there will be a re-branding and sharper focus of the National Planning Policy Guidelines series. The current thinking is that they should be called Scottish Planning Policies.

  There remains a great deal of detailed work to be done and we will be taking this forward with key stakeholders in the same open and inclusive manner in which we have carried out the earlier stages of the review. Copies of the Review of Strategic Planning: Conclusions and Next Steps will be available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre tomorrow.

Public Transport

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support the development of modern light rail systems.

Lewis Macdonald: The provision of urban light rail schemes is considered a local transport issue and as such is the responsibility of local authorities or, in the case of the Strathclyde area, Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority.

  To date, the City of Edinburgh Council is the only authority to have expressed strong interest in developing a light rail network for the city. As part of the Executive’s capital investment support for major public transport projects, we have made awards to the council from the Public Transport Fund and Integrated Transport Fund. This amounts to £6.5 million to advance the proposed development of a tram scheme for North Edinburgh and £6 million for a preparatory study into the proposed light rail system for West Edinburgh.

Rail Network

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the resignalling on the Forth Bridge will be completed.

Lewis Macdonald: The resignalling of the Forth Bridge is included within the Strategic Rail Authority’s Incremental Output Statements programme for infrastructure. Although this is a matter for the Strategic Rail Authority, I understand that the expected date of completion is 2005-06.

Rail Services

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when there will be an increase in the level of rail services between Paisley and Glasgow.

Lewis Macdonald: ScotRail restored its full weekday service between Paisley and Glasgow on 2 June, following the end of industrial action by drivers. Further enhancements, above the minimum level set out in the Passenger Service Requirement of the current franchise agreement, would be a matter for the train operator and Strathclyde Passenger Transport, which specifies rail passenger services in its area.

Regeneration

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it can give to expediting the regeneration of the Clyde corridor.

Iain Gray: In November 2001, my predecessor established the River Clyde Working Group (RCWG) to progress an ambitious strategy to maximise economic development along the River Clyde (from Glasgow Green to the Erskine Bridge) and to bring together, and add value to, the many development and regeneration initiatives currently under way.

  Ms Margaret Curran, Minister for Social Justice, and I hosted a Working Summit on 24 June which provided a useful forum for discussion of the key issues involved. It was recognised that this is a major opportunity for the Greater Glasgow area, with the potential for significant economic and social gain. It was agreed that the River Clyde Working Group would continue to work together to identify a vision for the river and a development framework to make this vision a reality.

Roads

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a reclassification should be undertaken of major trunk roads throughout urban areas of Scotland to ensure that routes such as the A898 Clyde Tunnel can cope with increasing traffic flows.

Lewis Macdonald: The structure and extent of the strategic road network was last reviewed in 1994-96, as part of the reorganisation of local government. There are no plans to extend the trunk road network.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the full costs were of printing and distributing its consultation document Implementing the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999 draft regulations and guidance for Scotland .

Cathy Jamieson: The publication and printing of the consultation document Implementing the Adoption (Intercountry Aspects) Act 1999 draft regulations and guidance for Scotland  has to date cost a total of £857. The breakdown is as follows:

  


Print Costs 
  

£417 
  



Distribution 
  

£24 
  



Website Conversion 
  

£416

Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it proposes to take in regard to the possible creation of a global container hub at Flotta or Hunterston; whether any financial assistance has been or would be given to any such proposal, and whether any Executive department or non-departmental public body would be designated to support any such proposal.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is liaising closely with the promoters of the possible container transhipment terminal at these sites, and will continue to do so. Highlands and Islands Enterprise has provided financial assistance for the marketing of the Flotta proposal, and Scottish Enterprise has agreed a financial contribution with Clydeport towards the further development of the Hunterston proposal. Any further financial assistance for these projects would depend on the circumstances involved, though the policy set out in Modern Ports: A UK Policy is that port developments and port operations should not in general need public subsidy. In implementing the Executive’s policies for ports, as set out in Modern Ports: A UK Policy , a range of complementary interests within the Executive and amongst non-departmental bodies is involved, with the overall policy lead taken within the Scottish Executive Development Department Transport Group.

Young People

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to publish information on the new policy arrangements in respect of young people leaving care.

Cathy Jamieson: On 18 June we published research on the current services available to young people leaving care in Scotland. This research shows these services are currently variable across the country. As a result we are focusing on improving existing services before introducing fully the new arrangements. The related measures to withdraw Department of Work and Pensions benefits for some young people leaving care have been delayed until April 2004.